Florence + The Machine Debut Short Film ‘The Odyssey’

Who said two powerful female artists can’t release a short film about a dysfunctional and broken relationship in the same weekend? Sure, you may have heard that a certain singer had an HBO special over the weekend. Want even more musical greatness to get your week started? We have just what you need.

Florence + The Machine dropped The Odyssey on Sunday, a collection of previously released music videos from their 2015 album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, along with the brand new video and ninth chapter of the film “Third Eye”. The music videos are connected by a series of new thematic scenes, with the 47-minute art film available to watch on the band’s site here.

Okay, so if you just watched the entire video then you’re probably sitting there, mouth wide open, eyes glazed over, thinking, “Okay… so that was amazing. But what the heck did I just watch?” Well, that’s what we’re here for.

First, we’ll state the obvious. Florence Welch is actually a pretty great actress. You’d have a hard time finding another singer who conveys more emotion through their facial and body expressions in a music video. You feel all her pain, anxiety, and confusion.

Welch said in a statement on the band’s Facebook page that the video’s concept follows the journey the singer experienced after what she describes as a “car crash of a relationship break up.”

“The Odyssey, like the epic poem by Homer, is a journey. It’s Florence’s personal journey to find herself again after the emotional storm of a heartbreak,” said director Vincent Haycock.

Viewers are taken on the journey for over 40 minutes, experiencing what Welch described as “the highs and lows of love and performance, how out of control I felt, the purgatory of heartbreak, and how I was trying to change and trying to be free.”

If you’ve ever experienced heartbreak, this film is perfectly relatable and will probably (and unfortunately) bring you back to your darkest hours and remind you of how you escaped that feeling, or show you how you can escape it. If you’ve miraculously avoided having your heart broken, the film is still a beautiful visionary tale and a fantastic look into the mind and soul of one of the most talented music artists on the planet.

As far as the ending of “Third Eye” goes, it may be representative of Welch returning to what she loves—performing. It could also be viewed as more symbolic, with the car crash marking the death of the relationship and that “version” of Florence Welch, with the stage and an audience as her heaven.

Toronto fans will be given the opportunity to be a part of the next chapter of Florence’s journey on June 10, when the band hits the Molson Amphitheatre for their How Beautiful Tour.